Politics, or Andy Burnham’s busy Friday at No 10 North in Manchester, features large in today’s edition.
That’s to be expected, of course. Eyes & Ears is a regional publication but, now that we are in the midst of a devolution revolution, so many national issues have significant regional and local repercussions.
We now know he is committed to bringing the Olympics to the North. He wants to problem-solve rather than point-score - so senior civil servants will be sent on secondment to every mayoral authority.
Ben Houchen might yet get his wish to pay “rebates” to Tees Valley residents, while he and the other elected mayors will be given the power to overrule councils and get more houses built.
Today’s edition also includes the maths students who are opting for company-sponsored apprenticeships rather than going to university, the Northumbria graduates who are making it big in the fashion world, and the councillors having to be reigned in for spreading “serious and unsubstantiated allegations”.
Music-wise, we cover Sam Fender, punk rock and Ernie, the fastest milkman in the West. And if you’re thinking of heading west to the USA then there’s a reason - and a lesson - in why you should give the iceberg lettuce a miss.
Brian Aitken
Editor
Power and sport
Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to make a bid for the World Cup in addition to bringing the Olympics to the North of England, he told a meeting of regional mayors at No 10 North on Friday.
There was also an announcement of a pilot scheme which will see all mayoral authorities, including the ones in the North East and Tees Valley, receive five to 10 civil servants on secondment to “build capability and capacity and accelerate the transfer of power to local areas”. It was billed as “the largest transfer of Whitehall capacity to local leaders”.
Burnham said: “No 10 North is putting more power into every postcode across the country so communities can unleash and unlock their own potential. I’m bringing together mayors from different political parties to work on these challenges, because people deserve problem-solving rather than point-scoring.”
A future leaders scheme was also announced with graduates in Yorkshire and the Humber encouraged to apply to a new civil service fast-stream pilot which No 10 said would allow more people to “build successful careers in regions outside London”.
Hope for Houchen plan
The meeting at No 10 North coincided with an interview Caroline Simpson, Burnham’s deputy chief of staff, gave to Politico Magazine.
Simpson, who Burnham poached from her job as chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, appeared to leave the door open to the possibility of councils using incoming economic freedoms to pay “rebates” directly to residents.
When Ben Houchen put forward this idea it prompted the PM to say a mayor could not be a “mini-chancellor of the exchequer.” However, the Tees Valley mayor said he has since discussed the prospect with Treasury officials and believes it will be possible unless the government directly outlaws it.
And Simpson didn’t exactly rule it out either. “The PM is absolutely right,” she said. “There’s going to be no ability to sit outside of the tax framework at a local level. That’s not what fiscal devolution is about. But flexibility about how that money is spent in a local area is going to be there… the absolutely technical ‘what does that flexibility look like?’ is going to have to be worked through.”
Build baby build
Andy Burnham’s focus this week is going to be housebuilding, and devolving more powers to mayors to sign off large-scale projects on their patches. For Kim McGuinness and Ben Houchen this will involve housing schemes above 150 houses, projects of more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space, and any building over 30 metres tall.
We know this because the PM invited David Collins to No 10 North on Friday to discuss his new policies. Collins, the Northern editor of The Sunday Times said: “I was shown to Burnham’s office and walked past a whiteboard showing 28 key projects for the mayors, to which No 10 North will give its attention. Most of them are public knowledge,” he teased.
In the exclusive interview that followed, Burnham pointed out that local authorities are still in a position where they’re losing more council and social homes than they're building: “The grip of the housing crisis tightens every year, and that’s obviously a problem for people.”
He blames right-to-buy for allowing people to purchase their own homes without allowing councils to replace stock. So, the devolved mayors will be able to overrule councils and push through big projects, just as Sadiq Khan can in London.
In addition to gaining the new “call-in” powers, mayors are set to be able to grant “up-front permission”, which the government says will allow building to begin “without a developer having to apply.
More of the same
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already said he will tackle profiteering in the care sector, but Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke wants him to go further and have “a profit cap on anything that is statutorily required” such as school meals.
Cooke, who chairs the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities for metropolitan councils in the Midlands and the North, said: “There are far too many providers with less good practices than a lot of the local authority provision. What we are seeing is absolute gouging on pricing which is unfair, so I really welcome some of the reform that’s coming on the private sector profiteering, but it is doesn’t go quite far enough.”
University challenge
Maths high achievers from specialist sixth forms are opting for company-sponsored apprenticeships to avoid student loan debt and gain job security, according to a report in The Times.
Nine specialist maths sixth forms have opened in the last decade and two more are in the pipeline, including one in Durham. There is great demand for them with five applications for each available place.
Iona Fielding from Blackpool turned down an offer to study aeronautical engineering at Durham University to begin a five-year aerospace engineering degree apprenticeship with BAE Systems, and Kieran Rowlings has chosen a four-year degree apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce rather than study mechanical engineering at Durham.
Matter of ‘facts’
Chief executive John Hewitt has contacted all Durham councillors over emails that presented “personal views, allegations and assumptions” about him, council staff and councillors as though they were fact.
“Having worked in local government for over 35 years, for many different administrations, I have never witnessed officers being singled out in this manner in an email circulated to the entire membership of a council, with allegations being presented as fact without any evidential basis. This is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
He said the spreading of “serious and unsubstantiated allegations” posed “potentially significant legal risks” for the Reform-led council.
Major success
Northumbria University fashion and photography graduates Francis and Helen Major started printing T shirts in 2003. Today, the couple’s Cramlington-based business has grown to become a global fashion and lifestyle brand, with more than half of all sales coming from outside of the UK.
Harper & Willow Ltd – which trades under the brand name Disturbia – has reported a 50% revenue increase from £35.1m to £52.8m and an operating profit of £12.5m, up from £8.2m.
United in tribute
“I want people to dream about their football club. They should. We should all be dreamers at heart. Some people are the opposite and say, ‘We can’t do that’. But when you ask them why, they can’t give a reason. Well, I say, ‘Why not’?”
A famous Kevin Keegan quote which was just one of the features during yesterday’s match between Newcastle and Liverpool as members of his family joined supporters and former players in celebrating the life of the Newcastle legend who died at the age of 75 last month following a battle with cancer.
Wave of support
A crowdfunding drive to raise £15,000 to permanently display the Battle of Trafalgar Union flag flown by Newcastle-born Vice-Admiral Collingwood’s warship has reached its target in just 11 days.
With the target set to run to September 3, the surge of public support has left organisers “overwhelmed”. Now North East Museums has extended its appeal target to £20,000 to create a permanent setting for the flag from HMS Royal Sovereign at the battle. Tony Henderson has more.
A quick word
Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council have signed the Poitiers–Granada Declaration which commits universities and their host cities to working together on shared challenges - sustainability, climate action, democratic participation, digital transformation, social cohesion and regional development. Taxi drivers in North Tyneside want to increase fares by 8% to help drivers combat a rise in fuel prices and the cost of living. Suspended Reform councillor Glenn Gibbins has denied making an online post which referenced Nigerian people that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character and will now go on trial at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on November 9. Social housing network SHINE and Dynamo North East have formed a partnership that will provide opportunities to share expertise and explore how digital technology, data and innovation can improve services and outcomes for residents.
Screen star Sam
There will be a special screening of Sam Fender’s London Stadium concert at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema on October 17. Filmed in front of more than 80,000 fans in June 2025, the concert captures the North Shields star at one of the biggest headline shows of his career, including a performance of record-breaking No 1 hit Rein Me In with Olivia Dean. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Toby L and Kit Monteith, producer Josh Connolly and Polydor Records creative director Semera Khan.
Cream of the crop
I’ve said before that The Times has the best letters pages. Here’s a reader response to enduring love being built on a shared interest: “Learning how to teach English to foreigners, I was paired with a fellow student to practise question technique. When I asked what the first record she’d ever bought was, she said Ernie (the Fastest Milkman in the West) by Benny Hill. Same as mine. Marriages have been built on less: 40 years later, we’re still together.”
Let’s hear from you
This may not be The Times, but it’s always a pleasure to hear from Eyes & Ears readers. Friday’s edition (Eyes & Ears 21.08.26) included a story about diesel buses being replaced by electric ones along one of Newcastle’s pollution hotspots.
This prompted a response from Olwyn Hocking. who is a paid subscriber to Eyes & Ears: “The switch to zero emission buses through the Cornerhouse pollution hotspot will be long overdue progress, given that it’s been expected to be one of the last places in England to reach minimum air quality standards.
“However, the bigger picture remains that Newcastle will still have harmful levels of pollution, due in large part to slow progress at replacing its dirty diesel buses. It’s well-known that local residents suffer above-average levels of health conditions that are exacerbated by poor quality air - Climate Action Newcastle has called on the Mayor and city to switch more quickly to cleaner better buses.”
Recommended reads
Investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan writes a Substack column called Democracy For Sale. He travels to States to visit in-laws most years and every year returns a bit more concerned by what he sees. This year, his biggest concern was prompted by being warned off eating the iceberg lettuce served up in a Kentucky restaurant - and the lesson we need to learn from it.
Britain’s postwar sugar rationing ended in September 1953, meaning children born just a few months apart had very different levels of sugar exposure both in the womb and during early childhood.
This forms the basis of a new study which found that people who had less sugar during the first few years of life were much less likely to develop several different cancers later in life. They also showed signs of slower biological ageing - and even in adulthood, they continued to consume less sugar and had healthier diets overall.
Fifty years ago, the UK’s punk scene was erupting. Sex Pistols were leading the charge. Influential punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue had just published its first issue. The Clash and The Damned made their live debuts, with the latter releasing the first ever punk single New Rose in October.
Five decades on, punk’s impact continues to be celebrated, debated and mythologised, says The i Paper. The word ‘explosive’ in their headline may be doing too much heavy lifting but it’s an interesting read nonetheless.